Static electricity created during general operation of wind turbines can buildup in the blades of wind turbines, causing communication interference and maintenance safety problems. Communication interference causes the wind turbine to send out alerts of detected problems, whether actual or false, and even shut down. The buildup of static electricity can also cause minor shocks to workers who touch the blades while servicing the wind turbine.
Existing electrical discharge/grounding systems for wind turbines utilize air gaps and are therefore intended to discharge currents large enough to jump the air gap (e.g., lightning). Current air gap style discharge systems are not capable of constantly discharging small currents created by static electricity buildup.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system which is capable of maintaining a grounded circuit to reduce the buildup of static discharge in the blades of wind turbines which utilize air gap style discharge systems without disrupting the function of existing lightning protection systems and while also bypassing any electric charge from contact with critical elements.